Abby and I will not be returning to Yanbu. As a family we have made the decision for my daughter and I to stay in the States permanently.
The recent unrest in the Middle East, with Isreal and Gaza along with the ISIS group in Iraq has changed the landscape of the place we've called home for the past 2 years. I do whole heartedly believe Yanbu to be safe and Chuck has seen little change there recently, but I'm a worrier and an overprotective Mom. With the tension and threat, I worry about the changes in the region. With Abby being blonde hair and blue eyes, Chuck and I made the decision that for now, Abby and I will stay in the States and he will be in Saudi, so we are now a separated expat family.
This was an extremely hard decision and one that we questioned over and over, and still do, however, for us it seems to be the best decision at this time. On top of the climate in the Middle East, the last 6 months in Saudi were very difficult for both Abby and myself. She is getting older and was missing "home", and after 2 years I was losing patience and missing little things as well. We loved our adventure overseas, but there are SOOOOOO many things that we take for granted in the States that over time grew to be a frustration for me.
The majority of women (expat) in Yanbu are fantastic, but as with anywhere, there are people that you love and those that you have trouble seeing eye to eye with. Because we are such a small group in Yanbu, it's difficult when there are so many strong and opinionated women in one area. The friends that I have made there are lifelong and I treasure every single one of them. We have laughed, cried, bitched and rejoiced together. We leaned on each other and I treasure every single one, however, there was quite a bit of conflict and stress that goes along with being a western woman in the Middle East, especially Saudi, and that stress led to me having more bad days than good in the end.
In the same sense, Abby could feel my tension and my husband's as we tried to see the best in every situation and adjust. However, she was not happy and wanted to be with family (Grandma and Pop-Pop) in the States, along with taking swimming and dance lessons with others her age. She started speaking Arabic fluently, but it was tiring for her and she became tired of standing out, she wanted to blend I think.
This past summer she has taken dance, swim and we've been to movies and concerts galore and she is happier than I have seen her in a long time. I miss my husband horrible and that is the hardest part of this decision. We moved to Saudi for the family time and it's extremely difficult to be separated, but we will survive and we will see each other every 3-4 months for vacations still until he can return to the States with us at the end of his contract. Abby has her moments where she will cry herself to sleep missing daddy, but overall, she has adjusted well and is EXCITED to start school, have playdates and not have to think when speaking with English. She loves that she can go to the store and not stand out and blend.
Please don't take any of these comments as not loving our life and time in Saudi - from all my other posts I think it's clear that we LOVED the culture and adventure that it brought. We really tried to embrace the experience, and I will always have many many fond memories of our time there, however, we wanted to be "home". And I think that's what the base line is - we are all from different backgrounds and cultures and "home" will always be "home" whether you're American, Saudi, South African, Canadian, British, Turkish, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, whatever we may be. We have out comfort zone and are proud of our heritage and country. "Home" is HOME for all of us.
So our adventure is taking a turn. I'm still a house mom, going to school for a masters and Abby is getting ready to start school here at Christian Pre-School. She is taking dance and tumbling and will continue swimming throughout the winter with lessons and new adventures to come. Here's to change and the new life we are working to embrace and re-adjust to!